What Becomes of Snow
by DreamingFae
Summary: Yuki struggled to shift his position on the cold, hard wood floor, but stiffness had set into his body like hardened cement...If only he could use both of his arms. But his right arm was mangled and useless...The condition of his body frightened Yuki.
1. What Becomes of Snow Ch1 Yuki

**Comments: **Hello to all who wish to read **"_What Becomes of Snow?_"** Before you begin I wish to add in some disclaimers. First off, I've had this idea rattling around in my head for some time now. However I was unsure of how to start it or even if I should have written it. Nevertheless, if you are a writer I'm sure you can relate when I say that I couldn't stand _not_ writing it. So—desperate as I was, knowing that I had to get this idea down on paper, and having no idea how to begin—I grabbed at my first opportunity for a starting point. That opportunity happened to be a book I was reading. The book is titled _Touching Spirit Bear_ and is written by Ben Mikaelsen. I have used several various phrases from this book for describing Yuki's situation and injuries—there was a good bear mauling scene with plenty of injuries similar to those that Akito likes to inflict upon Yuki— in my story. This is a disclaimer to say that some of the phrases are not mine. The majority of the phrases that I used are in the beginning of this story because, as I've said, I used the inspiration to set this story in motion.

This disclaimer is neither to discredit the idea of my story nor to say that the story line is not mine. It is. All mine. _Mine._

Ahem so…

…My second disclaimer is the usual: I DO NOT OWN FRUITS BASKET OR ANY OF THE CHARACTERS.

I think that covers all of the bases. If I have missed a few please feel free to comment.

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**Dreaming Fae**

Yuki struggled to shift his position on the cold, hard wood floor, but stiffness had set into his body like hardened cement. He couldn't roll to either side. If only he could use both of his arms. But his right arm was mangled and useless, and the only sensation he had from it was a throbbing burn in his shoulder. The condition of his body frightened Yuki. He'd been physically abused by Akito before, sometimes pretty badly, but it had never been this severe. He tried to take in a deep breath, but pain stabbed at his chest, and he returned to shallow tentave breaths, drawing in little air past his lips with each shuddering gasp.

Waves of pain wracked his body. With each agonizing wave he bit his lip and whimpered, trying not to cry out. The coppery bitter-sweet taste of blood kept seeping into his mouth forcing him to swallow or let it seep slowly past his lips to puddle onto Akito's perfectly polished floor. He dared not let his blood stain Akito's floor.

Suddenly Yuki's body was wracked with coughs. Instant agony tore at his broken ribs with each jolt the coughing forced from him. He tried to fight it, gasping, fighting to bring air to his burning lungs even as the asthma attack fought to rid him of it. It was a losing battle, Yuki realized as he listened to the high pitched sound of his wheezing. He was slowly suffocating. Again and again the spasms came, and the world swam in circles. Yuki tried again to stop choking, but couldn't. Black spots danced across his vision and then he lost consciousness.


	2. What Becomes of Snow Ch2 Kyo

Tohru was worried. Though she tried to hide it behind a cheerful façade, Kyo could sense it. She was tense and worry lined every movement of her body. Even the blue of her eyes had shifted somehow so that Kyo could see every time she looked at him the fear and strain. When he'd confronted her about it earlier she'd finally confessed that lately Yuki had been acting strangely. He'd suddenly space out or completely ignore her while pretending that he was listening to whatever she said. She said that a few times she'd even caught him wincing in pain or flinching whenever she touched him. He'd tried to cover it up saying that he'd fallen or that he'd twisted his ankle but Tohru didn't believe him.

She'd told Kyo that earlier that day, after school, she'd gone to the main house to deliver the homework that Yuki had missed that day because of his absence. When she'd rang the door bell, to her shock and surprise Akito himself had answered the door.

"There was blood on his hands," Tohru had said. "Not a lot, but enough that I noticed it."

Kyo had wanted to remark that Tohru noticed everything but the unmasked worry on her face had him keeping his mouth shut.

"He said…" Tohru had continued, "He said that he'd cut himself with a knife, a kitchen knife but…"

She hadn't finished her sentence. Nonetheless Kyo had understood. _But_ Akito never did anything for himself, let alone think to enter into the kitchen and cook himself a meal. Kyo had tried to laugh it off, saying that maybe Akito was trying to learn to care for himself, and Tohru, being Tohru, had dropped the matter and had put on a cheerful appearance. However Kyo's attempt at humor did not erase the worry from Tohru's eyes and he found himself beginning to doubt. He tried to push his doubt away. Yuki could take care of himself. And besides, why should he care about that stupid rat anyway?


	3. What Becomes of Snow Ch3 Yuki

**Comments: **This chapter is dedicated to my first reviewer: **Tomoe**. Thank you for reviewing!

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**DreamingFae**

Yuki awoke feeling weak, confused, and _cold_. Freezing. How long had it been? Minutes? Hours? Days? He drifted hazily, the early moments of wakefulness and the numbing cold dulling the pain of his body slightly, wondering detachedly, if Akito was going to come back. He turned his head weakly to stare into the black nothingness of the dark room around him. Haunting thoughts danced through his mind. No. Not thoughts, _memories_. Memories of more darkness. The sound of a small braided leather strap, dragging across the wooden planks of this very same room. Stinging pain and pleas for it to stop.

_Why don't you listen to me?_

_Yamete!_

Desperate tears welled up inside and trailed, warm and wet, down his cheeks to drip silently to the floor and mingle with his blood. Tortured thoughts slowly gave way to a dull numbness of Yuki's mind. Soon only one thought remained: he'd been forgotten and left to die…

Then once more he lost consciousness.


	4. What Becomes of Snow Ch4 Combined

**Comments: For ****Laurena**; because you've asked so nicely, I've combined a few chapters and POVs for my readers. Honestly I was just being annoying by splitting up the chapters, and really, this whole story up to about ch. 9 was combined. (Ha, Ha.) That, and I was trying to get more reviews that way. Alas Laurena your pleas have reached my heart, and so read on my fellow writer and enjoy the longer chapter.

---

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**Dreaming Fae**

---

Kyo couldn't sleep. No matter how hard he pushed away the memory of the worry that had clouded Tohru's eyes as she spoke of Yuki he couldn't keep it from slowly surfacing into his thoughts again. Restless, he once again turned to glance at the glowing numbers on his digital clock. 4:30 AM. Finally, with a muffled curse, Kyo sat up and slipped silently from his be. The winter's night air was freezing and it bit at his exposed skin as he tugged on a shirt and jacket, and changed from loose flannel pajama bottoms to a pair of heavier cargo pants.

One look. That's all he was going to take. Just one look. Once he was satisfied that Yuki was sleeping soundly in his room at the main house he was coming back with a clear conscience. Then maybe he could get some well desired and well _needed_ sleep. Finished lacing his tennis shoes, Kyo climbed soundlessly from his second story window and dropped to the ground, landing on all fours like a cat. He'd have to slip back in from the roof when he came back Kyo mused as he began sprinting through the forest towards the Main House.

It took him almost fifteen minutes to reach the front gate of the _Souma_ household. Agile as the spirit possessing him, Kyo started to scale the gate and had soon dropped down to the other side undetected. If his memory served correctly, he'd have to go around the back of the eastern side of the Main House to reach his old room. That window was always unlocked if not open. Kyo started for the right side of the house.

As he neared the place under his window where he knew he'd be able to climb easily into the house, Kyo felt an odd prickling sensation and turned to look. Across the yard to his left was the porch where Akito was often seen staring aimlessly upon the garden located in front of it. Usually one of the sliding doors was open as Akito leaned against it. Inside was a simple square room with a flawlessly polished wooden floor and another set of sliding doors that led to the inside of the Main House. Strangely, both of the doors were wide open allowing the chill of the night air to enter. The room inside was dark; however, Kyo's cat eyes picked up the moonlight and were able to detect a shape, unmoving in the darkness.

For a reason unknown even to himself, Kyo turned and made directly for the room. As he neared the room his ears were able to perceive the faintest sound of ragged breathing and then he saw that there was definitely someone—or something—there, crouched low on the floor. He moved slowly and steadily closer towards the unmoving figure. Someone, it was definitely someone.

As he stepped onto the porch, not ten feet from the dark shape, _it_ hit him. He reeled back, feeling as if he'd been hit by a freight train. The smell of blood was thick in the air, smashing into his senses—choking him. His nostrils were flooded with the scent and the taste of it was thick on his tongue. Kyo covered his nose, his eyes watering as he took the last few steps needed to reach the person lying on the floor. Dawning horror crawled up his spine raising the tiny hairs on the back of his neck. As the coming of dawn's light further heightened his sense of sight, Kyo could no longer deny to himself or to the world what he'd been trying to deny the moment he'd caught the sent of the blood. The person who was slowly dying at his feet, slowly bleeding to death…Yuki. Kyo dropped to his knees beside the unconscious boy and gripped his shoulder, shaking him.

"Yuki? Yuki!"

His voice sounded strange in his ears, strangled and tight. He knew that his eyes were huge as he took in the sight of Yuki's ragged, tattered clothing, his paper-white skin and his bloody mangled body. His movements became frantic and he shook his cousin harder crying his name louder.

"_Yuki!_"

Then at last the injured boy gave a strangled cry of pain, and Kyo released his shoulder. Yuki whimpered and fresh tears tracked down his face as sobs and shivers wracked his body.

Kyo watched his cousin writhing in agony, helpless, and vulnerable, and felt his heart crack.

---

Pain exploded through Yuki's body as he felt himself being jolted awake. A loud buzzing sounded in his ears and he cried out in agony. The jolting stopped as well as the buzzing but the waves of pain still echoed throughout his being and Yuki felt new tears spilling down his cheeks. The freezing cold bit at his exposed skin and shivers coursed through his body.

Yuki forced his eyes open to see his tormentor and violet locked with ruby. Kyo? Yuki blinked but the image stayed the same. It _was_ Kyo who was kneeling beside him, his skin pale and his eyes hauntingly large. A child's gaze of horror. Yuki closed his eyes against the picture of his horrified cousin and tried to lull himself back into the painless dark of unconsciousness.

However the annoying buzzing returned, and again he was shaken away from the darkness. His eyes snapped open once more and he stifled another cry of outraged pain. He saw Kyo's lips moving and the buzzing continued in his ears. Then slowly the buzzing transformed into words.

"Yuki! Can you hear me? You have to stay awake! God, what happened to you? I'm going to get Hatori!"

Yuki heard rather that saw Kyo get up and sprint across the room, the sliding doors slamming open as he tore out into the hall. His eyes had slipped closed again. He lay there, in the slow lighting of dawn, and wavered halfway between conscious and unconsciousness. The sounds of Kyo's departure were slowly drowned out by a deep silence as he moved towards the back of the house where Hatori's room was. After a few moments however, the silence was broken by a quiet sound, barely noticeable, but it turned Yuki's insides cold with fear. It was a soft dragging sound, the sound of cloth running over the wooden floor, and soft footsteps moving down the hall. Akito!

Yuki heard Akito enter the room. His pace was slow and leisurely. As he came closer, Yuki's body instinctively tensed against attack. The shuffling sound ceased and Yuki could feel Akito standing over him—could feel the bitterness of Akito's gaze. Moments before the assault Yuki's body tensed up almost unbearably, and the silence rang loud in his ears. And then Akito had seized his neck in a crushing grip, effectively cutting off Yuki's air supply. As Yuki gasped, Akito's other hand smoothed the hair away from his face, softly caressing.

"Poor Yuki. He's going to die and no one will care," Akito murmured his voice sickeningly soothing. "You're worthless," he continued his tone never changing as Yuki struggled, his efforts becoming weaker by the second. "You're weak, you're disgusting." With each degrading comment, Akito's grip tightened on Yuki's throat. "It's okay Yuki. I'm doing everyone a favor, getting rid of you." He tisked, shaking his head, and all the while staring profoundly into Yuki's terrified eyes. "You're such a waste. Anyway Kyo would have taken care of you eventually; I'm just helping him along!"

---

Kyo raced back towards Akito's porch room, Hatori following closely behind. He hoped desperately that they wouldn't be too late. In spite of the situation, the fear curling in his stomach confused Kyo. He should have been happy that the Rat was finally getting what he deserved. The Rat was the very cause of his being outcast by the entire family, even by those who were of the _junnishi_. He should have been happy that, even if he hadn't been the one to do it, the Rat had finally been defeated. But deep down, even though he would never admit it, he knew,_ knew,_ that Yuki didn't deserve what had been done to him. Nobody deserved that. And it was that knowledge, obscure as it was, that fed his fear and guilt.

When he reached the room Kyo froze. There, kneeling beside Yuki, was Akito. The head of the house hold was speaking softly to Yuki, all the while gripping the injured boy's neck tightly with his left hand. With his right hand however, Akito was steadily caressing Yuki's face, smoothing back his hair and wiping away the tears that were streaming from his eyes.

"Akito!"

The harsh exclamation from Hatori broke Kyo from his shocked stare. Akito looked up sharply, startled into a wide-eyed expression.

"Let him go!" Hatori nearly shouted.

Akito's surprised look quickly dissolved into a hateful glare. Kyo saw him tighten his grip a fraction more before he released Yuki throwing him roughly to the floor. Hatori hurried over to the injured boy who had begun coughing severely. Akito continued to glare at Hatori before turning brusquely, and shoving past Kyo into the hall. As he began to walk down the hallway Akito suddenly stopped. Turning to Kyo he said,

"Tell me Monster, did I fulfill you're expectations?" Seeing Kyo's livid expression he continued. "Or perhaps…could it be that you're _resentful_? Do you wish that I had left Yuki untouched for you?"

Kyo's breath froze in his throat and Akito laughed—a chilling sound. "You seem to be surprised _Baka Neko, _do you really think that you haven't wished for the Rat's demise every single day of your miserable life? Pitiable Kyo, don't you see? I have simply done you a favor! Now you can remind the Rat each day of how pathetic he is. How loathsome and repulse and _disgusting _he is. After all, isn't that what you have always dreamed of? To _demolish_ the Rat?...I did it for you, you know. All of it, for _you_ Monster."

Kyo felt sick. Akito was right. And Kyo knew it.

Watching the color drain from Kyo's face, seeing the guilt and shame rising to the surface of his features, Akito felt satisfied. With a mocking chuckle, he continued down the hall to be swallowed up by the shadows…

Back in the room, Hatori checked Yuki's pulse and breathing, then quickly called for Kyo. Slowly Kyo entered the room, unaware that his eyes were dark and haunted.

"Quickly!" Hatori commanded.

Dark bruised had already begun to blossom along Yuki's ivory skin from where Akito had strangled the helpless boy as well as red welts where Akito's fingers had dug into the sensitive skin.

"Kyo!" Hatori snapped finally gaining the red head's full attention. "Kyo, I need you to carry Yuki to the Medical Lab." He said hurriedly. At Kyo's hesitation he swore under his breath. "Dammit Kyo this is no time for your petty differences to get in the way! I have to get to the lab and prepare it for this patient. If we don't move quickly he's going to die! Now stop hesitating and help me!"

The realization that Yuki might die temporarily snapped Kyo out of his stupor and crouching, he began to shift Yuki into his arms. Satisfied that Yuki would be moved safely to the Med-lab, Hatori quickly exited the room and sprinted for the lab himself to prepare it for mending Yuki.

Kyo didn't fully understand the extent of Yuki's injuries but as he moved the smaller boy, he began to understand more and more the pain Akito had inflicted. He realized that Yuki's right arm was broken and dislocated as well as the fact that at least three of his ribs were broken.

Yuki whimpered piteously as Kyo settled him agonizingly into his arms. With one arm supporting Yuki's shoulders and the other in the crook of his knees, the position put strain on Yuki's arms as well as his damaged ribs. Nevertheless it was the quickest and easiest way that Kyo could think of.

As Kyo started towards the Med-lab, as swiftly as was possible without jarring Yuki too much, he noticed that his cousin was considerably light. As weightless as he might have expected someone of Momiji's size to be. He wondered if starvation was on Akito's list of tortures, and shuddered. He managed to reach the Medical Lab in a matter of minutes stopping to shift Yuki as seldom as he could. As he entered the room he saw that Hatori had already dressed the bed with clean white sheets and all the necessary medical supplies had already been laid out ready for Yuki to be treated. The family doctor motioned for Kyo to place Yuki onto the bed and rolled up his sleeves washing them thoroughly at the sink. As Kyo laid Yuki gently onto the bed, Hatori picked up a pair of sharp, silver scissors from the supplies lying on the table to the right of the bed. Then turning to Yuki he began to cut the bloody shirt down the center until he could remove it easily. Setting the scissors aside, Hatori gently pulled the destroyed shirt away from Yuki's body, careful to keep from disturbing the boy's mangled right arm. Once he had removed the hindrance, Hatori discarded the ruined shirt in a nearby wastebasket.

As he stepped away from the bed to grab a cloth with which to clean the abrasions, Kyo's view was no longer inhibited and he could see clearly what Akito had done to Yuki's body. Bloody slashes covered once smooth porcelain skin, and dark bruises had overlapped those. He could see the swelling of broken ribs and where, directly above his right hip, a deep gaping wound, as if made by a knife, bled thickly.

And there was something else…

Kyo turned away quickly, his breathing rapid, bile rising in his throat. He swallowed repeatedly trying to keep from spilling the contents of his stomach all over the floor. _Please...Please let that not have happened. Not that…_

He was immediately grateful when he heard Hatori move back to the bedside, grateful that his view would again be inhibited from seeing his cousin's heartbreakingly mutilated body.

When he was sure that he was no longer in danger of being sick, Kyo turned back around to see that Hatori had sponged clean Yuki's torso. With that task completed, Hatori picked up a needle filled with a clear fluid and injected it into Yuki's right arm.

"Kyo," he said as he placed the empty needle back onto the table, "I need you to hold him for me while I reset his arm. The morphine I gave him will dull the pain, but not enough for him not to feel this. It's still going to hurt him and I need you to keep him from moving." The doctor spoke calmly, almost unfeelingly. His expression blank.

Kyo swallowed thickly and moved hesitantly to the left side of the bed gripping Yuki's good shoulder with his left hand and placing his right, spread fingered onto Yuki's chest.

Yuki gave a strangled gasp and his eyes snapped open just before Hatori pushed, hard. There was a sickening _pop_ as the arm was reset and Kyo saw Yuki's eyes widen, tears streaming down his face, as his mouth opened in a silent scream.

---

**Comments:** How was that? The great authoress DreamingFae commands that you review. _Now!_

Please?


	5. What Becomes of Snow Ch5 Yuki

**Comments: **I know, I know, this _is_ a short chapter. But I want to leave you hanging here because I want you to wonder who Yuki's nightly visitor is. I'm sure that this is a simple puzzle to figure out. When you figure it out or when you think that you have figured it out review and tell me who you think it is and why. Your reviews will certainly make me happy!

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**Dreaming Fae**

Pain exploded throughout Yuki's right arm and he sobbed silent broken sobs, teetering on the edge of insanity as the agony ripped through him mercilessly. Dimly he was aware of Hatori bracing the arm and wrapping it tightly with gauze, and that, the pressure that had been weighing on his broken ribs lifted.

He felt the cruel torment as Hatori continued to tend to his ruined body, smearing salve on the bloody slashes from being whipped ruthlessly, and sewing up the deep gash in his side from the knife that Akito had thrust into his flesh. His older cousin murmured something above him and he heard someone exit the room. Then slowly he felt the rest of his clothing being removed and his lower body was cleaned and a new pair of shorts eased over his nakedness.

Finally, his body cleaned and his injuries taken care of, he was left to rest. Vaguely, he was aware of someone sitting to his right, watching over him as he drifted in and out of consciousness. At one point, he woke in a cold sweat, his body trembling from the nightmares that haunted him every time he closed his eyes. The thick darkness around him was stifling and his heart hammered in fear, his breaths coming out in short gasps. He sat up, his fear dimming out the pain of his aching ribs, and searched the darkness frantically. He could hear tiny whimpers straining from his damaged throat…and then warm hands gripped his wrists, and a soft murmur voiced from his left.

"It's okay Yuki, go back to sleep…"

The owner of the voice failed to register in his sleep deprived mind as he felt strong hands easing him to lie down again. He let out a soundless sigh as the hands of his faceless guardian brushed the hair from his eyes, and tucked warm covers gently around his chilled shivering body.

And, for the first time in weeks, he slept soundly, with no haunting memories to wake him.

---

**Comments:** So do you know who it is? Do ya, do ya, do ya? Well then, _review!_

P.S. If you give me lots of reviews I'll update sooner. He He He.


	6. What Becomes of Snow Ch6 Combined

**Comments: **Well I didn't get any reviews telling me who the visitor wasexcept from one person Single Rose. So this chapter shall be dedicated to Single Rose. :( I'm quite disappointed.

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**Dreaming Fae**

Kyo woke stiffly. He'd slept sitting in a hard wooden chair to the left of the bed, while his upper body rested on the bed his head lying pillowed in his arms. Slowly blinking sleep from his eyes, he stood and stretched, hearing his spine cracking. Lowering his arms, Kyo let out a deep breath and his eyes fell on the digital clock resting on the lamp-stand near his chair. 12:00 PM! He'd slept half the day away! His stomach growled loudly reminding him that he had slept through breakfast as well and he'd better not even think about missing lunch.

But I might just, Kyo thought to himself as his eyes fell upon Yuki. He felt a rush of sadness sweep through him looking down upon his battered cousin. It had been a long, hard, fight trying to keep the boy from falling into an eternal sleep and Yuki'd fought bitterly against them, his body rejecting the treatments Hatori had given. Finally though, out of pure exhaustion, his body had relented and Hatori had been able to save the boy's life, though Kyo was unsure whether or not that was a good thing for Yuki.

For the first four days of the five he'd been in the Med-lab, Yuki had woken continuously, his eyes large and haunted, his body in a cold sweat and great gasps, ripping from his throat. His voice box had been damaged, Hatori'd said, otherwise Kyo was sure Yuki would have been screaming. Hatori had tried to make Yuki eat something during the times he was awake, but everything would come back up again less than five minutes after he'd eaten it. Eventually he'd stopped trying to eat, refusing even water. With his body becoming weaker and weaker, Hatori had finally inserted an I.V. into Yuki's arm; forcefully feeding the boy's starved body.

In addition to suffering terror in his nightmares, it seemed that Yuki was terrified constantly whenever he was awake. His eyes darted around the room, his body jumping at any small noise, and he trembled in fear whenever anybody came near. To be touched was out of the question and he had to be forcefully held down and sedated whenever Hatori came to dress his wounds. Eventually Yuki grew to the point where he'd allow Hatsuharu to sit near the bed and so the white-haired boy would come to visit nearly every day, his calm manner soothing to his older cousin's tortured soul. When Haru left, Yuki would remain in a calm state of mind usually until he fell asleep.

Towards Kyo, Yuki seemed apathetic. It was humiliating to have his weaknesses revealed thus to his enemy, and Kyo was sure Yuki believed that he would take advantage of those weaknesses. As it was, though Yuki tried to hide it, Kyo could see the small tremors running through the bruised boy's body whenever he was around, and beneath a thin layer of calm, terror was rampant. Kyo wondered at the reaction. Was Yuki afraid that he would attack him? Though Kyo knew now that he would never do a thing so low, he had to wonder if _Yuki_ knew.

Because, shameful as it was, there was a time that he knew he may not have cared one way or another, _what_ Yuki's physical condition was. At that time he would have seized any opportunity he could have to defeat Yuki.

For as long as he could remember, he'd envied Yuki for his relationship the rest of the zodiac. After all according to everyone else Yuki was the smart one. The beautiful one. The _Rat._ Adored and loved by all compared to the _Cat_ who was a _murderer_. But what he had hated most of all was Yuki's relationship with Akito. Because Akito was the head of the household. If he liked Yuki so much, he must have been doting upon the boy constantly.

Kyo had always ignored the look of fear that would seep into Yuki's eyes whenever the head of the household was mentioned. He'd told himself that his frail cousin was just clumsy when he saw the black eyes or the bruises that had appeared whenever Yuki came back from "visiting" Akito. He'd even gone so far as to tell himself that Yuki was telling the truth when Hatori would ask about the bruises, why Yuki flinched whenever someone touched him, or the reason he was limping, and Yuki would say that he'd tripped , or his arm was bruised from playing with Hatsuharu, or he'd sprained his ankle playing tag. Hatori would always shake his head in disbelief of Yuki's excuses and usher the younger boy into the Med-lab to attend to the various injuries.

When they were older, at twelve, Akito would demand Yuki's presence more often and Yuki wouldn't be seen for days. He was always pale and jumpy when he returned and dark circles would be under his eyes for weeks.

The more he remembered, the more Kyo realized how thoroughly he had blinded himself. He remembered the time Yuki'd had a severe asthma attack at school, but he'd begged Haru not to take him to the Main house. Then there was the time when Akito had come to the school himself. Kyo had taken no heed to the helpless terror that had shown clearly from violet eyes.

He'd been a fool to think that because Yuki was Akito's favorite, he was spared Akito's wrath. It was rather the opposite. Yuki'd had it worse than all of them.

Perhaps it was learning the true weight of Yuki's suffering that bean to break Kyo's resolve to forever curse the Rat. As it was, the spirit inside him still raged whenever he was near Yuki. But Kyo no longer wished for his cousin's death or suffering. He resolved instead to establish an understanding with his cousin. Perchance it was possible to end the war that had forever raged between the spirits of the Cat and the Rat.

---

Yuki woke feeling heavy and lethargic. He struggled to open his eyes which felt as if twenty pound weights were sitting upon their closed lids. The room was bright with sunlight that momentarily blinded him when he'd succeeded in lifting the heavy lids. Squinting his eyes, he waited as they slowly adjusted. His mouth felt dry, his body exhausted and weak even after the longest sleep he'd had in days. His injuries however, were pleasantly numb.

He was almost always on some sort of medication now, whether it was to dull the pain of his abused body or to keep him sleepy and docile so that he wouldn't fight against Hatori or the others when they came to tend to his broken being. He no longer had the will or the energy to sit up alone, and was more-or-less a broken doll, his face a blank, emotionless mask, despite however much fear and turmoil he was feeling inside.

His eyes fully adjusted to the room's light, Yuki's deadened gaze fell upon his fiery-haired cousin standing directly in front of the bed. Despite himself, Yuki felt a tremor pass through his body.

_Kyo would have taken care of you eventually._

The red-head's gaze was fixed upon him and Yuki's own violet was held captive by crimson. He waited, heart thudding in his chest, fear crawling up his spine.

The expression on Kyo's face was unreadable and Yuki could not help but wonder what he was waiting for. Why was Kyo just staring at him? He was helpless and vulnerable, why not take advantage of the opportunity?

_I'll kill you, you damn rat!_

How often had Kyo shouted the words? He meant them, Yuki knew, remembering the hatred that had blazed hot from blood red eyes the last time Kyo had made the declaration. Every time Kyo had made the promise Yuki had known that it was only matter of time before Kyo would be granted the chance to fulfill it.

_And now he can,_ Yuki told himself wanting to close his eyes against the intensity of Kyo's gaze. It was Kyo however, who broke their stare, lowering his head and hiding his eyes behind the fall of his red hair.

"You… what's wrong with you?" he heard Kyo ask softly, his voice low.

If he'd expected Kyo to say something, it certainly hadn't been that.

"You're so lifeless. So…dead. _What did he say to you?_"

Yuki wouldn't have answered, even if he could have, and simply stared at his cousin, shocked.

"Fuck you." The other boy continued, raising fury filled eyes to glare hard into shaken indigo hues. "Fuck you for believing him."

And then he turned away abruptly to stare out the window, his back to Yuki, hands clenched into tight angry fists.

---

**Authoress's Note: **: ) I'd like to thank all of my loyal reviewers and AmoLife for the reviews on chapter five.

-D.F.


	7. What Becomes of Snow Ch7 Combined

**Comments:** Hi everybody! I'm sorry it has taken me soo long to update. I know you've heard it all before…goodness knows _I _have, but

I had lost all inspiration and had no idea of how to continue. Luckily my muses have awoken and given me a push to start up again. They _did_ decide to inspire me at **_1:30AM_** last, night but I guess since they allowed me to continue this story I won't complain…too loudly…ahem. _Anyway…_

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**Dreaming Fae**

Yuki sighed in quiet misery letting his head fall to the side and his eyes stare blankly at the wall to his right. He felt depression settling in, covering his body like a suffocating blanket he couldn't lift. It was not a new sentiment. Depression was, and always had been, an ever present enemy that lurked despairingly behind every fake smile, ever hidden secret, every carefully crafted mask of cool collectiveness and calm indifference. It caressed his conscious now like an old lover, seeking to devour ( _someone_ ;) ) what little was left of his soul until nothing remained but a dark empty shell. A worthless existence.

He let it settle over him, his fists lowered, his defenses down. He was _tired_, and he wouldn't fight anymore. _Couldn't _fight anymore. It was over. Akito had won. And as much as the thought of giving up had always disgusted him, he could almost feel a sense of relief. Relief that perhaps now…now that he had given up…it would be…easier. He let his eyes slip closed a symbol of his defeat.

---

Kyo turned form the window his rage now somewhat quieted. He looked at Yuki who was now staring blankly at the wall and felt something unsettling seep into his conscious. He felt his hackles raise, and the small hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. Something wasn't right. '_It feels,'_ he thought strangely and totally irrationally, _' like Death has entered into this room…' _

Taking a step closer to the bed he peered more closely at the boy, into the dark violet of the boy's eyes. They looked strange, and yet, the same as he'd seen them every day. Maybe it was because he could now read what it was that lay in their depths, when he never could before that they seemed strange. Dark, hopeless…deadened. He frowned stepping closer.

'_Wait a minute…'_

But before he could identify to himself what it was that made him feel so on edge, Yuki's eyes slipped closed.

---

**Comments: **I know its short but there's more coming soon…hopefully. Oh and before I forget this chapter is dedicated to all of those of you who have reviewed—thankyou!—and to the Dark Empress. :)


	8. What Becomes of Snow Ch8 Yuki

**Comments:** Hi everybody! It's been a while since my last update. But I've found some more of that good stuff called inspiration and so... here's another chapter. Thanks for all of the reviews! ;)

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**DreamingFae**

_The sun is warm on his back as he bends to pull the last invading weed from between the greenery of his newly planted strawberries. The fresh scent of recently fallen rain is still heavy in the air from last night's thunder storm. Looking up however he sees clear blue stretched out across the sky its consistency broken only by the occasional stray wisps of fluffy white cloud that drift in the light drafts of the wind. He almost smiles._

_The calm of a newly forming spring lifts his spirits and he feels almost light-hearted. Gathering the scattered remains of the pulled weeds he rises to brushed off the dirt form his soiled pant knees, and starts back to the house. It will be quiet and empty he knows. Shigure has gone out, Tohru had left for work, and the Cat had mumbled something about 'training' before running off himself. _

_He'll take a shower, he thinks, finish his left over homework, and then perhaps lay down for a short rest before going to pick up Tohru from work. She has a short day today…_

_His thoughts are cut short as he steps from the trees into the clearing that is Shigure's yard. '_What is Hatori doing here?'_ He wonders looking at the doctor's parked car in front of the house. It is when he catches sight of the dark figure resting on the porch however, that he freezes in place, his footsteps halting abruptly. _

_A small shiver of fear crawls up his spine as coal black eyes meet his across the yard, and he longs to step back into the dark cover of the surrounding forest trees. Instead of turning and running as his body franticly urges him to do, he takes a short step forward. And then another. His body trembles in fear and again he halts halfway across the yard, his knees threatening to give out if he tries to move any further. _

_A slow smile spreads across pale lips and the dark figure rises from the porch to meet him across the yard. One pale hand reaches up to clasp his chin while the other slowly, almost caringly, caresses the strands of hair away from his violet eyes. A deep shudder runs through his body._

_"I've missed you." The man finally speaks. The words trigger an almost overwhelming sense of terror, his body screaming at him to run fast and to run far. He doesn't move save to take one shuddering breath. He wishes profusely that he is not alone. Even the Cat would be welcome at this point. 'Kyo_.'

_"You don't come to visit me anymore," the man continues the hand tightening minimally along his jaw. _

_He knows it will be tight enough to leave bruises very soon. _

"_Why?" _

_He stays silent, his throat dry, and no words come past his lips. He knows his eyes are wide and frightened. A small sadistic smile spreads across the man's lips once again and the hand tightens a fraction more. The man gives a fake mournful sigh his expression deceptively kind as he says, "I'm disappointed in you. And I don't appreciate your disobedience. So… what am I going to do with you?" The man tilts his head to the side as though thinking. "...Perhaps you can come for a visit," he continues. "A few weeks stay. What do you think hmm?"_

_He gives a small, almost imperceptible, shake of his head and sees the hard black eyes turn to ice. Fury becomes etched into the man's face and the grip on his jaw becomes crushing. "You _will_ come to me! My word is law. I am God." The cruel smile returns. "Yes. I _am_ God." The hand holding his jaw in a vice-like grip drops away, and the man turns to walk to the waiting car. With his hand on the handle of the car door, he turns back, "You will come to me everyday after school starting tomorrow. We'll…_talk. _Don't disappoint me Yuki." _

_His heart pounds frantically in his chest, his breathing coming out in quick gasps. He barely registers the sound of a car door slamming and the vehicle driving away as he drops to his hands and knees. He wants to scream. But no sound passes through his lips. In the distance, the rumble of thunder echoes ominously._

_---_

**Comments: ** So waddaya' think? Tell me, _tell _me:D


	9. What Becomes Of Snow Ch9 Combined

**---**

**Comments: **Hi all! Ducks Hey! Stop throwing rotten tomatoes I'm sorry I haven't updated in so long! The thing is for a long time I wasn't sure if I wanted to continue with this story. However it seems that I haven't given up entirely because here is another chapter! So I guess I'll just play it by ear for now and we'll see where this goes.

By the way I need a Beta so if any of you would like to volunteer for the job just send me a review. You can send me an E-Mail but I can't promise you that I'll read it as I don't check my mail very often.

This chapter is dedicated to all of my loyal reviewers who are not too lazy to get off their behinds and send me one. Goodness knows I'm almost always too lazy to write them. ;)

N E way on to the story.

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**DreamingFae**

Hatori sat still, legs folded neatly beneath him waiting for Akito to speak. His body was ridged, eyes trained on the smooth wood of the floor beneath him, hands placed demurely on his knees, and ears acutely aware of any sound the man across the room made.

He tried to keep from thinking of the horrors this room had witnessed not a week passed and his eyes flicked to and away from the small section of the floor where the polish had been scrubbed away during somebody's efforts to remove what had been a dark crimson stain.

The head of the household was silent and motionless staring out into the lush garden that lay just outside the main room.

Only the melodic trickling of the water fountains in the garden and the occasional call of a bird broke the complete silence of the room. A calm breeze rustled through the trees outside before finally Akito spoke.

"I'll consider what you have told me Hatori." He said softly never turning away from the window. "If what you say is true, that my Yuki almost died, I have little choice but to allow him to return to that dog's house."

He did turn then, dark eyes burning viciously into Hatori's gold, but veiled with an eerie calm that Hatori knew could be gone in an instant if the man was provoked.

"For a while anyway. Until he recovers." He shifted, turning to completely face Hatori. "I want to see him first though before he goes. Tomorrow maybe, or the day after."

Hatori took a quick breath.

"Akito-sama I don't think—"

"Don't argue with me Dragon!" Akito hissed. "I _will_ see him before he leaves or he won't be leaving at all! I am God! My word is law!"

Hatori bowed his head, the dark fall of his hair hiding his expression.

"Now get out." Akito said turning back to window. "I'm done with you."

Standing, Hatori bowed formally before exiting the room.

---

"_Oi_! Kuso nezumi!" Kyo growled at his fair skinned cousin. "What the hell do you think you're doing?!"

Yuki's dull eyes slowly slid open at his cousin's exclamation.

"Don't you _dare_. Don't you even _think _about giving up. I know you, you damn Rat and you giving up ain't gonna happen. Not while I'm around. I'll kick your scrawny ass first!"

It was only after he'd said it that Kyo realized his last statement might not have been the best choice of words to use. Especially considering Yuki's current state. However instead of scaring the boy as he might have done, it seemed that Yuki was laughing at him.

His blank expression hadn't changed but looking closely Kyo saw a spark of humor flash through the violet-colored depths before it disappeared into vacant amethyst. Kyo smirked internally as that flicker of humanity revealed that the drugs that Yuki was almost always on were thinning out.

With no real anger behind the words, Kyo snarled, "_What's so funny?_"

Yuki's only response was to drop his eyes, staring emptily down at the bed sheets that were gathered around him.

Kyo huffed in fake indigence before making his way back to the chair he'd been sitting in previously.

He could feel himself being watched intently, each movement carefully scrutinized for motive.  
Annoyed, he wondered if Yuki were ever going to believe that he wasn't going to try to attack every time the smaller boy's guard was down.

Blood red eyes met dark wary ones and Kyo doubted the possibility.

He held the gaze unwavering, daring his cousin to look away. And Yuki did, jerking his eyes away to lock onto the door that was opening across the room.

Hatori entered, followed closely by a solemn Hatsuharu and a bouncy Momiji.

"Yuki! Yuki! I've missed you! How are you feeling?!" the blond bunny exclaimed loudly.

Said young man winced closing his eyes and bringing a hand up to cover his forehead.

"Momiji please! Quiet down." Hatori chided shaking his head in exasperation.

"Gomen-ne Yuki-kun." Momiji apologized turning big sorrowful eyes to his cousin. "Ano…daijobu desu ka?"

" Daijobu desu Ji-chan." Yuki replied dropping his hand and offering Momiji a small smile.

After a moment Hatsuharu shifted, dragging an empty chair forward and placing it by the bedside at Yuki's left.

Sitting down he started to take Yuki's hand but then thought better of it and instead folded his hands and placed them in his lap.

"Everybody at school has been wondering about you Yuki, Momiji stated his tone more subdued. "Tohru too. She's worried and asking about you."

There was a small silence before Momiji continued, "Ano…Haru and I have collected your's and Kyo's homework from this last week so that you won't fall behind."

"Arigatou." Yuki replied softly and Kyo saw his eyes flicker briefly to his broken arm before he met the blatant stare of his younger white-haired cousin.

"How _are_ you Yuki?" Hatsuharu asked gray eyes searching his older cousin's face intently.

"I'm fine Haru." Yuki responded, his façade of indifference perfectly in place.

"Bullshit." Kyo spat. He almost marveled at how quickly and how easily Yuki had slipped back into his old habits. Almost. Because, Kyo thought, he _had_ been lying_ all his life_.

And he was very good at it Kyo noted, observing how Yuki didn't even react to the outburst.

Hatsuharu though, frowned.

Before anything else could be said however Hatori spoke, slipping into doctor mode.

" Momiji, Hatsuharu, I'm sorry that your visit is being cut so short but I need to re-dress Yuki's bandages and to speak with him about some important matters. I'm sure you'll be able to visit him again sometime soon."

" Bye Yuki." Hatsuharu stated softly before he stood and quickly, before the action could be determined, pressed a kiss to Yuki's forehead.

In a much louder voice, an exuberant Momiji echoed Haru's words. "Bye bye Yuki! Feel better! We'll see you again soon!"

For a moment longer Haru stood staring down at his older cousin before he was seized by Momiji and dragged out the door.

---

_The musical lilt of the bell announcing school's end sounded throughout the campus. Excited students rushed through the halls all happy to be going home._

_Yuki stood slowly at the sound of the bell, gathering his books together and exiting the classroom, a deep feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach. Reaching his locker he exchanged textbooks for homework notebooks before closing his locker and turning to see Tohru and Kyo walking down the crowded hall towards him._

_Summoning up a fake smile he walked the rest of the way to meet them._

"_Yuki-kun!" Tohru exclaimed, a bright smile forming across her features. "Are you ready to go home?"_

_Yuki's smile faltered slightly. "My apologies Honda-san," he began with an expression of regret. "I forgot to tell you that I have a student council meeting to attend today."_

_Seeing his fallen expression Tohru quickly worked to reassure him "Ano, daijobu desu Yuki-kun! You're always putting yourself out to help people. You're such a wonderful person!"_

_Yuki felt his mask of happiness began to crack._

"_Arigatou, Honda-san. I don't want to be late, please excuse me." Yuki turned to walk away quickly._

"_Kyo." He paused for a moment to look over his shoulder at the redhead. "Make sure she get's home safe."_

_Resuming his walk, he heard Kyo begin sputtering indignantly behind him._

"_Shut-up you Damn Rat! Of course I'll make sure she get's home safe!"_

_The exclamation met him halfway down the hall and the corners of his lips twitched into a true smile as he turned the corner._

_-----_

_He stood before the front gate, his body trembling, his breathing coming out in quick gasps, his skin cold and clammy._

'Calm down, calmdowncalmdowncalmdown………….'

_The words changed a mantra through his head. And he tried. Tried to calm his franticly beating heart, to still his trembling and to regulate his breathing. But it was difficult. He was terrified. _

_He took a deep breath and held it, leaning forward to rest against the solid wood of the gate in front of him. _

'Calm down…'

"_Yuki?"_

_His head whipped around at the sound of his name, his eyes wide in shocked surprise. _

_Hatori._

"_What are you doing here? Is your asthma acting up again?"_

Yuki's breath released in a shuddering gasp and within moments, a mask of numb indifference had slipped over his features. It was easier when he was acting around someone else. Easier to pretend that he was impenetrable, when he was lying to someone else.

"_I'm fine Hatori." He stated calmly glad that his voice was steady." As for why I'm here, you do not know?"_

_Hatori shook his head slightly in the negative before replying. "I don't for sure but I can guess. Are you sure you can handle this?"_

_Yuki looked at the older man a hint of scorn in his gaze. "Do I have a choice?"_

_Hatori didn't answer the rhetorical question. _

_At the older man's silence Yuki returned his attention to the gate pushing it open and stepping inside the Souma complex. He felt a slight shiver pass through his frame and he paused stiffening as a hand dropped to his right shoulder._

"_Yuki," he heard his cousin begin hesitantly, "If you…if you need anything…let me help you. Don't run away okay? If something happens, don't try to hide it. Let me fix it."_

_Yuki nodded stiffly and only then did the hand drop away. With a small tremor of dread, Yuki continued towards the Main house where Akito waited for him._

_----_

_The dark silence was stifling in its intensity. He sat curled into a corner, his knees to his chest and his arms wrapped around them. He wondered how long he'd been in this darkness. It had been hours he knew. It had to be well past midnight by now. _

_He shifted slightly, stifling a gasp as pain laced up his back. The skin had broken earlier from Akito's harsh whipping, and he knew that the back of his white shirt would be stained crimson with his blood along with the rim of his black slacks._

_The cotton shirt stuck to the oozing welts and he longed to remove the irritation._

_He fought laboriously against the weariness of his agonized, sleep-deprived body as it desperately tried to shut down on him. It wasn't too difficult as the deep darkness around him made his body quake with fear and haunting memories of the other times he'd been confined in such darkness swam through his conscious just behind his eyes._

_He breathed shallowly resting his head against his knees. Only moments later he heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps outside the door of the locked room. _

_The shuffling ceased briefly before the unmistakable sound of locks clicking and the door being slid open reached him... _

_Fear slithered up his spine and danced in his stomach. He couldn't make out the features of the figure standing there and prayed that it wasn't Akito._

"_Yuki?"_

_Relief washed over his senses and the mind-numbing fear began to loosen its hold on him as Kureno's voice called through the darkness. He let out a shuddering breath he didn't know he'd been holding and Kureno continued._

"_Akito has fallen asleep, you can go now."_

_Yuki almost wanted to laugh at the simple dismissal in his cousin's voice, at the lack of feeling in that voice. '_As if he were only dismissing me from tea'_ he thought bitterly._

"_Hai." He replied in an almost inaudible voice._

_Choking back cries of pain Yuki slowly got to his feet and, swaying slightly, he walked from his private torture chamber to the darkened hallway where Kureno stood._

"_Shall I call for Hatori?" Kureno's voice seemed loud in the darkness._

_Yuki shook his head slightly before realizing that Kureno couldn't see him._

" _No," he replied in a hushed voice before slowly making his way past the older man down the hallway, leaning against the wall for support. He paused as his vision began to blur, the hallway swaying and doubling before him. He was so tired…_

_He shook his head lethargically trying to refocus as he took a small step forward and then another. His knees wobbled and he collapsed, sliding down the wall even as he tried to hold himself up. He cursed silently trying to stand again._

'Come on Yuki you can do this! One foot in front of the other.'

_Getting to his knees and again using the wall for support, Yuki hoisted himself up from the floor. _

_Before he could attempt to walk again however, he was jerked around roughly, hands seizing his shoulders in a crushing grip._

_He cried out half in fear half in pain as his unknown assailant shook him violently jarring the slashes on his back._

"_Are you trying to kill yourself?!" a voice asked harshly in his ear. Yuki groaned quietly, the realization of who that voice belonged to becoming clear. _

"_Don't give me that! I _told_ you to come to me if you needed my help!"_

Feebly Yuki tried to release himself form Hatori's steel-like grip as he was dragged in the opposite direction down the hall towards the hospital wing.

"_Hatori…Hatori! I'm fine!" he cried almost pleadingly._

_The older man paused whirling on him. "Don't lie to me!" he growled his showing gold eye narrowed angrily. "You can't even walk properly."_

_Yuki didn't respond shocked at the doctor's uncharacteristic vehemence._

_At Yuki's silence Hatori dragged the unwilling boy the rest of the way down to the hospital wing._

_Stepping into one of the empty rooms, Hatori pushed Yuki none too gently towards the bed and flicked on the bright florescent lights blinding the violate-eyed boy momentarily._

"_Sit there," the doctor ordered motioning toward the bed as he slipped on a pair of plastic medical gloves._

_Yuki complied sitting down slowly as he watched Hatori prepare to examine his back. The man was wearing only a pair of dark blue pajama bottoms making it obvious that he had been in bed earlier._

"_Kureno came to get me, in case you're wondering." The doctor explained noticing Yuki's lethargic observation. Then, carrying a bowl of medicated water with a soaking cloth in one hand, and dragging a rolling chair behind him with the other, the older man approached the bed._

"_Lay down," he ordered placing the bowl on the bedside table._

_Hesitating slightly, Yuki finally relented, laying on his stomach and presenting his shredded back to Hatori. _

_With a stream of loud curses the doctor glared down at his younger cousin who only pressed his face deeper down into the mattress beneath him._

"_What the _**hell**_ were you thinking Yuki?!" The man snarled taking in the amount of blood on the silver-haired boy's once-white shirt. The bloody mess was partially dried and sticking to the still oozing welts on Yuki's back. _

"_You've probably lost too much blood," Hatori growled through gritted teeth. He knew that the shifting of the half-dried shirt sticking to the oozing slashes on Yuki's back had to be excruciating every time the boy moved. _

_With a half irritated half resigned sigh, the doctor picked up the sopping rag from the bowl next to him, and got to work trying to loosen the shirt from his cousin's back as gently as possible._

_---_

_Yuki stumbled clumsily through the forest leading to Shigure's house shivering violently from the cold. Hatori was going to be furious with him. _

_After the doctor had painstakingly bandaged his back and provided him with a clean shirt, he'd ordered Yuki to stay in the medical wing and rest. _

_Yuki'd protested saying that he had to get back to Shigure's house. But Hatori had turned him down refusing to let his younger cousin go in his condition. At Yuki's further protest Hatori had threatened to sedate the boy if he didn't lay down and sleep. _

_So Yuki had feigned sleep until he had convinced Hatori that he would follow his orders. After a half hour of supervising the violet-eyed boy, Hatori left finally going to bed himself. When he'd been sure that Hatori was not going to return Yuki had escaped the hospital room and the Souma complex._

_Now he stumbled over tree roots and stones making his way towards Shigure's. He let out a quiet sigh of relief when he caught sight of the front porch illuminated through the trees. by the moonlight He reached the front door, silently thanking Tohru's thoughtfulness when he found it to be unlocked._

_Slowly sliding open the door, he took care to keep quiet, dreading the thought of anyone catching him coming home so late. Then closing the door behind him and slipping out of his shoes, he silently tiptoed towards the stairs. _

_One by one he carefully ascended the stairs, straining his ears for any sign that someone might be awake. The house remained silent and he reached the top of the stairs._

_He gave a small sigh of relief and started down the hallway towards his room. His relief was short-lived however as he suddenly slammed chest-first into a warm body. With a small cry he stumbled backwards tripping over his feet and landing flat on his back._

_Involuntarily he let out a small whimper the slashes on his back re-opening from the harsh impact. He lay there for a few moments his body consumed by the pain, black spots dancing before his vision and unconscious tears leaking from the corners of his eyes._

_Eventually he became aware of someone cursing rather colorfully from above him._

"_Damn Rat! What the hell is your pansy ass doing creeping around the house at three in the fucking morning!?"_

_Yuki didn't respond and only stared up at his cousin, air wheezing sharply through his lungs._

"_Oi…what's wrong with you? Get up," the redhead urged nudging Yuki's leg with his foot._

_After a moment Yuki complied, painfully getting to his feet, before hissing through his teeth._

"_**Stupid Cat**__." _

_Kyo growled threateningly at the insult fists tightening at his sides._

"_Shut-up kuso nezumi! It's not my fault you're such a lightweight that you can't hold your own ground!"_

_Yuki didn't respond, opting instead for continuing towards his room. Just as he reached the thin door sliding it open, ready to make his escape, he heard Kyo call out softly; "Ne, kuso nezumi, what happened to your shirt?"_

_He froze momentarily his breath catching in his throat as he remembered that, unlike himself, Kyo could see perfectly well in the dark. Silently he thanked Hatori's thoughtfulness in giving him a clean shirt and discarding his destroyed one. At least now he knew that Kyo was asking about why he was wearing a shirt that was clearly not his, rather that why he was wearing a bloody shredded one._

_His shoulders relaxed slightly and instead of replying, he simply stepped into his room and shut the door behind him._

_---_

_Kyo growled lowly, irritated at his cousin's complete dismissal of his question. He turned to continue on his way to the kitchen before suddenly pausing._

_Lifting his chin slightly he sniffed at the air._

'Blood…'

_---_

**Comments: **Well I gave you guysa slightly longer chapter because anybody who still remembers that this story exists deserves a longer chapter.

Now for any of you out there who are paying attention, what's small and blue and at the bottom left hand corner of this screen? If you press it and leave me a review I'll give you a cookie. If you don't this message will automatically self-destruct in…5…4…3…2…1…

And… you're still here.

Okay… how about this: PWEASE???


	10. What Becomes Of Snow Ch10 Combined

**---**

**Comments: **Uhhh. On with the story? Hee, hee?

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**DreamingFae**

Hatori sighed closing his eyes and rubbing wearily at the back of his neck.

"Well then," he stated turning to face Yuki, his gaze solemn. "You seem to be in a better state of mind today so I'll leave this choice up to you."

Yuki gazed at the doctor warily and Kyo could see his body beginning to tense.

"I can sedate you—as I've been doing for this past week—while I treat and examine your injuries. Such a course of action may be…" he hesitated, "…easier… to carry out for the both of us. I don't recommend it though Yuki. I think it would be best for you to allow me to do this of your own free will, and thus begin on the road to recovery."

Hatori paused for a moment and Kyo sensed that he was choosing his words very carefully.

"Also, Kyo's presence is optional. Though he has been helping me thus far and would undoubtedly aid in this task running much ore smoothly, I can always call for someone else."

Kyo saw an almost invisible shudder run through Yuki's frame before Hatori went on, his gaze flickering to rest on the redhead.

"Really I don't know why or how it is that you are still here. The most obvious reason would have to be that Akito is not yet aware of your still being here."

There was a pause while Hatori waited for Yuki's response before finally the younger boy sighed shrugging his single good shoulder, a frown marring his features as if to say, '_what choice do I have?'_

The doctor nodded once in confirmation before he went on.

"One last thing." Here Hatori's tone became, if possible, even more serious. "I have spoken with Akito about your current condition and have made the request that you be allowed to return to Shigure's home on the bases of a quicker and more complete recovery.

You must understand Yuki, if you don't already, that Akito is a very unbalanced man and many times doesn't realize the severity of his attacks. He was very distressed to learn of your condition."

Kyo snorted in disbelief.

"I am not saying this to excuse his actions," the doctor said firmly frowning briefly at Kyo. "I am merely trying to explain his lack of rationale. He doesn't wish for your death Yuki, you must believe this."

Yuki didn't respond verbally or otherwise and Hatori cleared his throat.

"In any case, he has agreed to let you return there under the condition that he see you once before you go."

Yuki seemed to curl into himself at the words.

"I don't think I have to explain to you that while such a course is unappealing, it is the lesser of two evils." Hatori said studying the silver-haired boy.

When Yuki again made no effort to respond, Hatori sighed running a hand through the pitch dark strands of his hair. "He'll come to see you anyway Yuki. At least use the inevitable to your advantage."

After a moment of silence during which it was apparent that Yuki wasn't going to answer back, the doctor stood and began gathering the things he would need to treat Yuki's various injuries stating;

"I'll let you think on it."

Then began the arduous, unforgiving task of cleaning, salving and bandaging.

----

----

He hated it. The weakness that made him shiver and tremble violently as his wounds were exposed. He hated that his enemy was there to witness his weakness, and he hated himself for being unable to do anything about it.

But who else could be called to take the redhead's place?

Kureno was out of the question. He'd been Akito's right-hand man for as long as Yuki could remember, even having gone so far as to restrain Yuki himself anytime the boy'd been lucky enough to temporarily break free from Akito.

And he definitely wouldn't taint Haru or Momiji by allowing either of them to realize the atrocities that had been done to his body.

Really, then it came down to only Kyo who wasn't a much better choice than anyone else.

So he sat there painfully aware of just how _weak_ he was. Just as Akito had told him countless times.

It was repulsive.

It didn't get any easier over time—living with himself, his pathetisism. He would know. He'd been living with it for over a decade. Ever since his mother had sold him to the head of the Souma's in exchange for a more prominent position among the family.

It hadn't taken him long to realize that no one was going to help him. Akito was feared by all even when he hadn't been much older than the child Yuki himself.

At the time, he'd thought that his life was at its worst. He was always kept inside, away from the other children and under constant supervision.

Akito was cruel, using his words to tear into Yuki's young unguarded soul, and fists and braided whips to torture him physically.

And even at his young age, Yuki had learned to put up shields to guard himself against the attacks.

As he'd grown older, he'd learned that though his identity as the Rat placed him in an outwardly revered position among the Souma, it also fueled the rage directed against him by the others of the Zodiac.

His first meeting with Hatsuharu had consisted of insults hurled at him by an enraged boy with whom he'd never even come into contact.

Yuki'd been able to dispel Haru's hatred and had even managed to console the younger boy, but the encounter had left him shaken and hurt.

And not very much later he'd met another member of the Zodiac. A boy with eyes like rubies and hair the color of the sunset sky.

He'd been enchanted by the unique coloring and by the appearance of the young boy who had stood outside alone during that chill winter night, staring up at the dark sky. So much so that he'd been drawn out of his hiding place and had revealed himself with an innocently awed whisper; "_pretty!" _

That had been a mistake.

The other boy whirled around to glare at him furiously raining down insults and hateful words upon a shocked Yuki vowing even then to forever curse him for being the Rat.

So Yuki had fled. Straight into the arms of Akito who'd promptly informed him that he should hate the Cat just as fiercely and forever remind it of it's place—below the Rat. Not worthy even, to breath the same air of the Rat.

Naively Yuki'd protested, stating that he wanted to be the "pretty" boy's friend.

He'd been punished. Severely. It was the last time he said such a thing.

As time passed, his walls grew thicker and higher locking him into is own world of self-loathing and torture even as he sought to build them for protection against such things.

Eventually the walls became a place behind which to hide his disgusting soul along with multitudes of secrets and shame.

Instead of keeping the hurt out, he used the walls to conceal the pain, his true feelings and his emptiness. It was ironic that not only was he physically trapped within Akito's clutches, but he had also mentally trapped himself, unable to escape Akito even within himself.

But his walls were crumbling. And he knew that soon everyone would see that what lay behind them—what little was left of himself—wasn't even worth salvaging.

----

----

Kyo met Hatori's eyes over the top of Yuki's head his expression mirrored by the worry on the doctor's face.

It had started out okay—the task of tending to Yuki's injuries. They'd propped the boy up against a stack of pillows keeping him upright and Kyo had been following Hatori's soft commands on how to proceed.

And while Yuki's eyes had been wide with fear and pain, his body trembling violently, he'd done nothing to hinder the process.

He'd stayed perfectly still, hand's white-knuckled clutching tightly at the blankets in his lap, body broken out in a cold sweat and his breathing rapid and short. But he'd been cooperative. He'd been _there_.

Then suddenly it was as if he'd completely left his body, or burrowed so deep inside himself that he was no longer responsive to anything going on around him. His eyes had gone vacant, and his body had loosened and ceased trembling. His breathing too had evened out.

Yuki had stopped responding even to the point of showing no signs of pain though Kyo knew he was on the minimal amount of painkillers.

But Hatori hadn't ceased working and likewise neither had Kyo. They'd carefully spread salve over healing wounds and re-wrapped Yuki's broken arm and ribs tightly in clean fresh bandages.

Finally when they were finished, they laid the unresponsive boy back against the pillows so that he was half-way reclining with no pressure on his ribs.

As Hatori began straightening up Kyo watched his empty-eyed cousin perplexedly.

"It's called Emotional Detachment or Disassociation." Hatori said suddenly, breaking the heavy silence in the room.

Kyo looked up at the doctor seeing the thinly veiled distress over his features.

"It's a common symptom that often arises from psychological trauma. Yuki's been through a lot. It's the only thing that helps him to cope with these situations."

"_These_ situations?" Kyo stated flatly. "How long has this been going on Hatori?"

The older man gave him a measuring look. "Kyo you must have known that something was going on."

Kyo scowled looking down at his detached cousin. "I didn't realize…not…not really."

Hatori sighed. "Since he was three."

Kyo's head jerked up. "Wha—"

"Akito's been doing this since he was three. Of course it wasn't always to this extent. He used mostly words back then."

Kyo's surprise was almost tangible. "B-but surely…" he sputtered. "Surely his mother—"

"His mother sold him to Akito. To gain a more prominent position among the Souma."

Kyo—eyes wide with shock—was speechless. "I—"

"It's okay Kyo. You don't have to say anything. Really, what is there to say?" The doctor shook his head desolately.

Kyo's dark eyes narrowed. "Why hasn't anyone _done_ anything?" He demanded. "Isn't the _Rat_ supposed to be precious? The one everyone is supposed to love and protect?"

Hatori's own eyes widened. "Kyo…Yuki is Akito's possession. We of the Zodiac _cannot_ go against what he says."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?!" Kyo exploded furious.

Hatori scowled. "He is God. And we are of the zodiac. We must obey him. We have no _choice_. Yuki cannot stand that he can't escape Akito's orders any more than the rest of us. Have you never wondered _why_ it is that he will never allow you to beat him when you fight?"

Kyo froze. "_What do you mean?_"

Hatori said calmly, "He knows Kyo. About the deal Akito made with you. Akito told him."

Kyo swore lowly, his voice a deep growl.

"He wishes to save you from the same fate he suffers. To be free of the zodiac curse means more than just the absence of the physical changes it causes when we are embraced by the opposite sex. It is to be free of _Akito_ and the influence he has over us."

"He's only condemning me to a cage by not letting me win." Kyo growled.

Hatori sent him a wry look. "And who's to keep you from leaving this place and avoiding that fate all together?"

Kyo's expression changed to one of surprise.

"Really Kyo," Hatori said exasperated, "you haven't thought about that yourself? Yuki has been counting on the fact that you would."

Again Kyo found himself with nothing to say.

He was saved however from making a response by Hatori's calm voice. "You missed breakfast this morning. I'll have someone bring you and Yuki something to eat. Watch over him for me, he should wake up soon."

And with that he left the room, shutting the door softly behind him.

----

----

_Fingers trembling violently, Yuki quickly buttoned his shirt closed. Silently, he thanked Hatori for interrupting Akito when he had; knowing what would have happened if Akito had been allowed time to continue._

'Don't think about it.'

_Accidentally his fingers brushed against the ugly red mark on his collarbone where Akito had bitten him only minutes ago. He hissed at the light contact, gingerly finishing buttoning up his collar, covering the mark._

_He was glad that his uniform shirts were collared. Hiding the mark would have been difficult otherwise. Shirt buttoned, he nervously wiped damp palms across his dark slacks before softly treading across the wooden floor of the main room to the door. Quietly he listened for sounds of anyone approaching and hearing nothing, he carefully proceeded to slide open the door._

_After glancing down the hallway in both directions he silently slipped out of the main room and headed for the closest exit._

_---_

_It was only a little after five-thirty when Yuki arrived home and by then he'd gotten his emotions firmly under control. He couldn't give himself away to the others. _

"_Tadaima." He called softly stepping into the front hall._

"_Ah Yuki-kun! Welcome back!" Tohru called, her head poking out from the kitchen door way._

_Yuki smiled generously at her, slipping off his shoes and placing them neatly by the front door._

"_Honda-san. How was your day?"_

_Tohru blushed endearingly. "It was wonderful Yuki-kun. I'm so excited; Spring Break is coming up soon! A whole three weeks vacation! Isn't it great?"_

_Yuki's smile became more forced. "Ah, yes it is."_

_Tohru smiled brilliantly. "I can't wait!" she exclaimed disappearing into the kitchen. After a moment she called back, "Ano, dinner will be done soon Yuki-kun would you tell the others?"_

"_Of course Honda-san." Yuki replied heading for the stairs._

_His forced smile disappeared completely as he reached the top. It was exhausting always having to put up a façade._

'But I can never let them know the truth.'

_A flash of what had taken place earlier that afternoon passed through his mind. Akito with his lips pressed harshly against Yuki's own._

_He felt shame and guilt begin to surface in his conscious and quickly prevented the emotions from showing on his features. He wished he could banish the emotions themselves as well._

_He knew though, that he could never erase so many years of anguish from his soul. Nor the last five years when the torture had become more than just cruel words and harsh beatings._

_Closing his eyes, he paused a moment to push back the overwhelming feelings. He would deal with them later when he wasn't about to go down to dinner. With a deep breath he opened his eyes and started down the hall to Kyo's room._

_Knocking twice on the wooden frame he called out, "Kyo, dinner's ready."_

_When after a moment there was no answer he knocked again, louder this time. "Kyo!"_

_Abruptly the door was jerked open and Kyo was glaring severely down upon him, narrowed red eye, locked with wide violet._

"_Stop making such a racket ya Damn Rat!" he growled, scowling fiercely._

_Yuki stepped back, erasing the shocked surprise from his expression and replacing it with boredom and a hint of scorn._

"_Tohru's calling us for dinner." He replied calmly, taking in Kyo's messy appearance._

'He must have been asleep.'

"_Yeah, yeah I heard ya." Kyo responded stepping from his room and sliding the door closed behind him._

_Turning on his heal he brushed past Yuki and all but stomped towards the stairs._

"_Hey perverted Dig! Dinner's ready!" Kyo called as he passed Shigure's door at the end of the hall._

_Yuki sighed at the fiery boy's temperament, before following him down the hall. _

_Just as he was passing by Shigure's room the door slid open and the Dog stepped out._

"_Ah Yuki, how was your meeting?" he asked a slight smile across his features._

_Yuki stared at the dog wondering if the double meaning behind the words was intentional. _

"_I-it went well…" He finally forced out._

"_That's good Yuki. That's good." The other said walking past Yuki and down the stairs._

_Yuki remained standing at the top of the stairwell alarm coursing through his body. Was Shigure aware of what had been going on? He was sure that the man knew about Akito's orders concerning Yuki's visiting him. But had the man been hinting at the knowledge of something more? Or was Yuki just being paranoid?_

_Shaking his head Yuki continued down the stairs, if he didn't get into the dining room soon he would be missed._

_---_

_Dinner passed quietly and Yuki felt himself start to relax into the feeling of normalcy that Shigure's house possessed. He was sitting in the family room across from a dosing Kyo, reading form one of the class-assigned books that had been handed out to all the second-year students, when the phone rang._

_After a couple of rings Kyo sat up from where he'd been resting his head on the table and went to answer the annoying machine._

"_Hello?" A pause and a scowl later the redhead burst out, "I haven't forgotten!...Whatever…"_

_Then turning to Yuki and holding out the phone he stated, "Akito."_

_Yuki felt the color drain abruptly from his face and a terrified shiver passed through his frame. Shakily he stood and walked over to his cousin, reaching out with a trembling hand and taking the receiver from the taller boy. _

_Akito seemed to know exactly when Yuki had put the phone to his ear and began speaking._

"_We didn't get to finish what we started earlier Yuki," he purred. "I'm disappointed, you left before I got back."_

_Yuki could feel his cousin's eyes on him and he cursed the fact that he couldn't hide the turmoil that he knew was clearly visible on his features. Turning his back to the other boy so that he was facing the wall he nearly whispered into the phone._

"_Gomen nassai." _

"_You should have stayed Yuki. Now I'm going to have to punish you."_

"_P-please Akito—" Yuki began in a choked voice._

"_Don't argue with me Yuki."_

_Blindly Yuki put out a shaking hand to steady himself against the wall before him._

"_Spring break is coming up soon. I've heard Hatsuharu and that annoyance of a rabbit talking about it. I want to spend more time with you Yuki. I never get to see you anymore since you're always at that dog's house. So I've thought of a wonderful solution. You'll come stay with me here during your break. It'll be fun don't you think?  
_

_Yuki felt his throat close up and the only sound that came from him was a strangled whimper._

"_I'm glad you agree with me. You can stay in your old room, right next to mine."_

_The silver-haired boy's legs buckled and he collapsed to his knees wheezing harshly. His fingers constricted hard around the plastic of the phone as he struggled to breath._

"_Well Yuki I've got to go, Hatori is coming. But I'll see you tomorrow, ne? Ja."_

_There was a small click and then the dial tone rang dully in Yuki's ear._

_The receiver slipped from numb fingers to clatter loudly on the floor as Yuki gripped at his chest. He couldn't breath._

_---_


	11. What Becomes of Snow Ch 11 Combined

**What Becomes Of Snow**

By,

**DreamingFae**

Yuki jerked awake, eyes wide as his inner demons clung to his consciousness during the first few moments of his waking. He struggled to calm himself—at least outwardly—as he was not alone in the room, working to quiet the harsh gasps that tore from his throat, to steady his shaking limbs, to return the mask of composure to his façade.

He wished he was alone. Alone with the shame of his sordid memories so as at least to allow himself to not be strong for once. He needed to be weak. To rage and weep with the hatred of himself and to eventually exhaust himself with the emotions so that once again he could become emotion_less_. He could bind up all of that useless fervor and lock it away again behind his walls of indifference. And then maybe…maybe he could fool himself and everybody else for just a little longer…just enough to get by for a little more time.

But he was not alone, and he struggled to put himself together piece by shattered piece, before the ruby-eyed boy turned from the window to see him.

When Kyo eventually did turn away from the window Yuki had barely managed to pull himself into some semblance of self-control. There was only a thin veil over his chaotic mentality and from the wry look on the other boy's face it wasn't doing him much good over being transparent.

Yuki looked away from the force of that red stare and tried to focus on something else—anything else. He felt very exposed in his state of near clear-headedness and in an attempt to lessen his feelings of inferiority he struggled to raise himself into a more upright position.

He hissed in pain at the throbbing aches the movement cost him and a wave of dizziness brought black spots to dance over his vision. Vaguely he registered his cousin moving forward as if to help and felt himself jerk wildly away as his bare shoulder was met with the light touch of the other boy's hand.

"N-no!" he bit out irrationally as remembered fear swept through his body. "Stop it! D-don't touch…!" He gasped his own harsh breathing cutting off his words.

Kyo jerked away as if he'd touched hot iron before raising both of his hands in a show of submission.

"Yuki—" he started.

At Yuki's wild eyed glance he choked off his own words. He wasn't sure then if Yuki was even in the same room anymore. Yuki looked away quickly his hands tightly gripping the sheets in his lap. He was repeating something over and over under his breath as he stared into his lap his eyes huge.

Kyo tried to pick out the words stepping forward when he couldn't catch them.

The movement sent Yuki reeling. He wrenched himself away almost falling from the bed before he began stumbling toward the door. His legs gave way just before he could grab the handle in a firm enough grip and he fell against the unyielding surface sliding into a shivering ball at the bottom.

He brought a trembling hand up to grip at his hair, small whimpers escaping from within himself.

"Yuki!" Kyo tried again. Slowly the other boy turned his head to stare wide-eyed at the red-head. "You are not there Yuki. You're here! You're safe!"

Yuki intent gaze was unnerving. "S-safe?" he echoed after moments of silence his voice hushed. His expression changed suddenly and a dark chuckle poured from his lips. "Safe?! Nowhere is ever _safe_!" His chuckles continued before they distorted into darker ripping sobs as he buried his face in his one good hand. "I'll never be _safe_."

Kyo moved forward slowly inching around the bed. "Let me help you." He said softly.

Yuki flinched away. "Don't!" he said his voice stronger.

"You can't lay there on the floor and I seriously doubt you can get yourself back onto that bed." Kyo said a scowl creeping into his expression.

Yuki shuddered dragging his arm across his face in a weak attempt to remove the traces of his tears. After another moment of silence Kyo again moved forward to stand at Yuki's side. He bent, grasping Yuki's good arm and wrapping it around his shoulder before bringing his other arm to support Yuki around his waist. With little effort—as Yuki weighed hardly anything, especially after refusing food for so long—Kyo pulled the other boy to his feet and began walking with him toward the bed.

He could feel the tremors that passed through the smaller boy's body pressed against his side. Yuki kept his face turned away from Kyo, staring at the wall to his right as he made small muddled steps. Even this seemed to be too much for him and Kyo felt himself supporting more and more of the boy's weight even within the few steps it took to reach the bed.

With a small amount of effort he deposited Yuki back onto the bed stacking the pillows behind him so that he could rest and still be half sitting up.

Yuki shivered his eyes feverish, forehead clammy with sweat and Kyo pulled the blankets up around him as best he could with him in that position.

As Yuki struggled to control his breathing, Kyo moved to sit in the chair still by the bedside at Yuki's right. He had to be hurting. Very much in fact as Kyo had needed to grip him around his ribs to move him from off of the floor. Violet eyes shut and his jaw clenched tight as Yuki waited for the pain to subside. After a long moment he let out a shaky breath before slowly opening his eyes.

His hands trembled violently and Yuki shoved them beneath the blankets hiding them from sight. He bowed his head, silver strands falling to cover his expression as he choked out in a strangled voice,

"I c-can't do this."

Kyo glanced at him. "Do what?" he queried in a controlled voice. To see Yuki of all people, _Yuki _who was the epitome of self control, broken and emotionally transparent was disturbing to say the least. He hoped that through a composed voice he could lend calm to his cousin.

Yuki tilted his head, his hair parting so he was able to stare at Kyo through the corner of an eye.

"I can't see him." He stated slowly. "I can't."

Kyo met his gaze squarely. "But you will." He said. "You will go there tomorrow and you will face that bastard and gain your freedom."

Yuki chuckled again in that hair-raisingly dark tone. "There is no freedom from him. He is always here with me, in my thoughts, in my sleep. There is no waking from him. There is no _freedom _from him."

_And_, Kyo thought as Yuki's gaze jerked towards the opening door where two of the staff were carrying in food followed by Hatori, _he's right. There will never be freedom from Akito as long as he lives within Yuki. _

Yuki kept his head lowered, his expression cut off from the room's visitors by the fall of his bangs. His body remained stiff and unmoving. Kyo glanced from him to the maids who were unhurriedly placing the few dishes that they carried on a nearby table. They whispered quietly among themselves casing furtive glances Yuki's way and made a show of doing their job despite the fact that there was nothing left to do.

"That will be all." Hatori spoke in his deep commanding voice. The two maids turned and bowed, "Yes Master Hatori," before exiting the room and closing the door.

Hatori sighed after the door closed. "I'm sorry about that Yuki" he said. "As it turned out, they were the only staff available."

"No doubt," Yuki spoke in a low voice "They will report directly to Akito."

"No doubt" Hatori conceded. Looking pointedly at Kyo he added, "You're presence will not be anonymous for much longer."

Kyo scowled and shrugged a shoulder, unconcerned. It was partly a show. Akito could be ruthless, he knew. But after knowing what he had done—the madness he was capable of—Kyo'd be dammed if he let the nut-job get the better of him.

----

_Soft moonlight fell to delicately illuminate the face of the sleeping boy lying motionless on the hospital bed. His face was pale, his breathing deep, and his heart rate sounded softly in the quiet night by means of the monitor clasped firmly to one of the boy's fingers. _

_The quiet of the night was broken by the sound of the door handle clicking sharply as it was slowly turned from the outside. The door creaked open and the boy began to stir lethargically as the new arrival padded quietly across the room to the bed. _

"_Yuki." The man murmured bringing a hand up to stroke the waking boy's face gently. Violet eyes opened slowly to meet the dark gaze of the Sohma clan head. _

_A soft gasp escaped the boy's lips and his eyes widened. The sound of his racing heart was dramatically sounded by the monitor and inwardly he cringed at the high-pitched verification of his terror. _

"_Shh shh." Akito whispered tracing Yuki's face with his fingers. "Come with me Yuki. I have a surprise for you."_

"_A-akito…!" Yuki stammered. _

_A tiny smile raised the corner of the dark man's mouth. "It's okay Yuki. You'll be fine." He ran his fingers over the silver-haired boy's trembling lips. "Just do exactly as I say."_

_With the barest hint of touch, he lightly brushed his lips over Yuki's, before grasping the boy's hand and pulling him slowly off of the bed toward the door. _

_They passed silently through the dark halls, Yuki's hand held captive all the while by Akito's. He felt his breathing quickening, the beginnings of a wheeze deep in his throat. _

"_I'm so glad you were able to come to me." Akito said quietly, pausing before the sliding doors that lead to the main room. He glanced over his shoulder at Yuki. "Of course if it weren't for that asthma attack you wouldn't be here so soon. I'll have to be extra careful." He smiled indulgently at his younger cousin._

_Turning back to the doors he slid them open stepping inside and pulling Yuki in along with him. Finally, finally he released his hold on Yuki before he turned and slowly slid the doors closed. _

_He felt weak in the darkness, as if his body would give out on him at any moment. Tremors shook through him and it was all he could do to keep from collapsing as Akito turned to face him. _

"_Let's talk." Akito said walking to the center of the room and settling in a seated position on the floor. "Come here," he said waving the frozen boy over and patting the floor before him. _

_Slowly Yuki unlocked his muscles and moved to stand before Akito before sinking to the floor in front of him. _

"_Akito—" _

"_Shh," The older boy cut him off. "Me first," he said. "How have you been Yuki? I think about you all the time. I miss you when you are not around."_

_He raised a hand and began playing with the soft strands of Yuki's hair. "These are getting long," he stated absently. "I know!" he exclaimed suddenly making Yuki jump. "I'll cut them for you!" he said his face lit up eagerly. "Won't that be fun?"_

_He didn't wait for a response and instead jumped up heading for the set of drawers that stood across the room atop which sat a covered bird cage. Pulling open the drawers one by one he searched until he found what he was looking for. With a too large grin he turned holding up a pair of shiny silver scissors. The metal glinted ominously in the small amount of moonlight that entered the room via the small crack between the sliding doors that lead outside to Akito's private garden._

_The dark man made his way back over to his younger cousin and sat himself back down in front of the boy. "You'll like this," he said before glancing into the other boy's wide eyes. He paused. _

"_Yuki?" he asked a small frown marring his brow. "Don't tell me you don't want me to cut your hair!" he pouted. "I never get to be with you any more and as soon as I want to have a little fun…!" He stopped a small gleam appearing in his eye. _

"_Which reminds me…we never got to finish where we left off yesterday." He placed the scissors down on the floor beside him and gently brought his hand up to the collar of Yuki's shirt. Slowly he undid the first button. _

_Yuki felt his throat constrict further as his heartbeat sped and his breathing became heavier. Without thinking he grabbed Akito's hand halting its advance._

"_A-akito," he gasped "Please d-don't. Please no!" Thick tears began to stream down his face unchecked and Yuki struggled to stop them._

_Akito stared at him momentarily frozen. Slowly his expression of shock transformed into one of rage. "What was that?" he hissed quietly. "You dare to refuse me? _Me?! _I _own_ you!" _

_In a movement so quick Yuki couldn't move away in time, Akito grabbed the scissors and plunged them into the boy's side._

_Instant agony tore through his torso and Yuki cried out in shock and pain. His eyes locked with Akito's rage infused ones and he knew at that moment that Akito was too far gone. That this rage would consume him fully and that, in his current state, Akito may not stop this time before he killed him._

----

Reviews always welcome and very much desired.


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